How Is This Obama Economy Working Out For You?

We’re five years into the Obama presidency, and I’m just wondering, how is this economy working for you? Granted, presidents don’t have direct control over the economy, but their policies have a lot to do with it, and Obama has had five years to put his stamp on things.

For our family, it’s a constant feeling of angst. Thankfully, Mr. LC has managed to keep busy enough to meet payroll and pay the bills. Since I lost my part time job and the ad revenue the blog brings in has plummeted from its already low rate, things aren’t looking to get much better in 2014. So much for saving for a rainy day. On top of that, thanks to Obamacare our health care costs are going up, so there’s even less money to put out there into the economy. And we’re healthy!

Picked up my other prescription today (I only have two) and it also increased to $60/mo. So I’ll have to drop one of them (co-pays and deductibles on top of the $ coming out of my check means that the new job with more money actually nets me $5 less per check than the old job!).

She also noted how other middle class people she has observed are reacting to Obamacare’s impact on their wallets.

There was a long line of various-aged-backgrounded people and behind the rx counter and you should have HEARD the language about Obamacare. The pharmacists aren’t even being careful any more, they’re complaining along with everyone else. What really struck me was the middle-class resentment of the ‘have nots” who are supposed to be getting this terrific “affordable care”. Before Obama, I never really heard the middle class voice such intense dislike for the poor. That’s the other class envy/resentment, but nobody is talking about that one.

The above is just anectodal evidence, but Fox News reports that the number of middle class Americans on food stamps is higher than ever before.

In a first, working-age people now make up the majority in U.S. households that rely on food stamps — a switch from a few years ago, when children and the elderly were the main recipients.

Some of the change is due to demographics, such as the trend toward having fewer children. But a slow economic recovery with high unemployment, stagnant wages and an increasing gulf between low-wage and high-skill jobs also plays a big role. It suggests that government spending on the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program — twice what it cost five years ago — may not subside significantly anytime soon.

Food stamp participation since 1980 has grown the fastest among workers with some college training, a sign that the safety net has stretched further to cover America’s former middle class, according to an analysis of government data for The Associated Press by economists at the University of Kentucky. Formally called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or SNAP, the program now covers 1 in 7 Americans.

The findings coincide with the latest economic data showing workers’ wages and salaries growing at the lowest rate relative to corporate profits in U.S. history. (Read More)

So, how is this new economy working out for you? Are you feeling secure in your employment? Do you worry about putting food on the table and paying your bills every month? If you’re retired and living off a 401K or IRA do you worry the stock market is going to crash? Let us know in the comments below.

Well my family has been blessed to be in Texas and my husband has an oil field job making decent money. However, the worries are still there concerning the future. I’m hoping and praying Wendy Davis is not elected to change our good fortunes here and I am also concerned for my mothers 401k at her job.